It's a Love Story

Lilli laughed. "We can stay up late watching chick flicks and doing make up." she said to Cassie, smiling. She hoped Cassie was at least a little bit of a play makeup girl.

"I wear Momma's makeup sometimes. Mikey ends up laughing at me," she told Lilli.

Mike chuckled. "I'm sure Lilli will make it look a lot better than you make it look."

Lilli winked at Cassie. "I'm good at makeup and brought lots with me." she said then turned to mike. "Let's go riding. It's still light out, show me how to ride." She smiled.

Mike smiled and got up, putting his dishes in the sink and walking outside with Lilli to the stables to get the brushes. "We'll only brush her mane and neck for now, so you know how to do it later." He handed her a brush and gently started brushing her mane. "You have to be more careful with the mane, because the hair is long, it gets tangled easily. I brush my horses at least three times a day, mainly around breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If I take a horse out riding, I brush its mane when we get back. Not really necessary, but the horse trusts you when you take the time to care for it," he explained and smiled at her.

Lilli smiled, brushing the mane like Mike was doing. "I wish I would be here longer so she get's to know me." she said then bit her lip. "Sorry, none of that... We'll do what we can."

He kissed her cheek. "You can stay for as long as you like. We got schools here you can go to, and jobs aren't that bad."

"But I've got friends, and my family at home." she said. "After I finish school, I'll come here, promise." she said then kissed his cheek after she was done brushing. "So, teach me how to saddle."

He nodded. "Alright." He went to get the right-sized saddle for her, and a blanket, and brought it out. "You gotta put a blanket down under the saddle. It adds comfort for your horse and reduces the risk of her getting a rash from the saddle." He put the saddle and blanket on Splatter and bent down to tighten the straps down under her. "When you tighten these, they can't be too tight and they can't be too loose. If they're too tight, it'll suffocate her or give her a bad rash. If it's too loose, you'll slip off sideways. There we go," he said, finishing the last strap. He stood up and slipped the reins on Splatter and led her to a stepladder. "Get up on there, put your left foot in the stirrup and swing your right leg over. Real simple," he smiled.

Lilli nodded, listening and watching everything he was saying. She nervously ran a hand down Splatters neck to comfort both her and her horse. She did as she was told and put her left leg in the stirrup and swinging her right one over. After getting her balance and smiled down at Mike. "It's not so bad..." she said, holding the reigns with one hand and running her hand down Splatters neck again.

He smiled. "Very good. Very, very good," he kissed her hand and patted the horse's neck. "Now, I'm gonna get Cloud. I'll be right back. Stay relaxed," he smiled at her and went to get his horse.

She nodded, staying relaxed. "Okay... relaxed... I can do this..." she said to herself.

He got back, riding Cloud. "Honey, all you do is sit there and steer her. it's alright."

"But, how do I make her start going?" she asked, looking at him.

He smiled. "Do this," he clicked his tongue and tapped Cloud's sides with both his heels and the horse started walking.

Lilli did the same thing and then gripped the reigns harder as she started moving forward.

Mike smiled and rode alongside her to get her more comfortable.

Lilli smiled, relaxing and looked at Mike. "I like this." she said softly, patting Splatters neck.

He smiled at her. "I'm glad. This is one of my favorite things to do," he said cheerfully.

She smiled. "I can see why."

He smiled cheerfully and led her through the woods to a meadow.

she smiled. "wow... this is great."

He smiled. "It looks a lot better in the summer. Covered in tall grass and wheat. It's beautiful."

Lilli shrugged. "It's beautiful now."

He chuckled. "You wanna ride faster?"

"I don't know if I can..." She said slowly.